Before making something quicker, ask if you need to do it at all

The idea

It's easy to see a slow task and immediately ask how to speed it up.

But there's a question worth asking first:

Do we need to do this at all?

Making an unnecessary task twice as fast still leaves you doing an unnecessary task.

Try this

1. Pick the task you're trying to make quicker.
2. Ask: What would happen if I simply stopped doing it?
3. If you can't stop, could you do it less often or do less of it?
4. Only then look for ways to make what's left quicker.

Keep this

Before you improve a task, check whether you can remove it.

Why this helps

Regular jobs have a habit of sticking around.

A report gets produced because it has always been produced. A meeting stays in the diary. Information keeps being collected because somebody once asked for it.

That doesn't mean the work is still useful.

Making a task faster can save a little time each time you do it. Removing a task you no longer need saves all of that time.

So before reaching for automation, a new spreadsheet or a better process, ask the simpler question first.